


necassary tragedies

by iamalystark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt Wanda Maximoff, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Wanda Maximoff, Kidnapping, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Steve Rogers, Psychological Torture, Suicide Attempt, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Torture, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:00:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamalystark/pseuds/iamalystark
Summary: When Wanda is kidnapped, the Rogues, with nowhere to go, turn to Tony for help. But will they find her in time?Or, the one where Wanda gets kidnapped, the Rogues are concerned parents, and the team slowly begins to mend back into a family.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Wanda Maximoff, James "Bucky" Barnes/Wanda Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff & Peter Parker, Wanda Maximoff & Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff & Steve Rogers, Wanda Maximoff & Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 58
Kudos: 294





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyo! The first few chapters will be a bit short, but they get longer as the story goes on, I promise!

  
**WANDA** **LET OUT** a small huff of amusement, her gaze on the ground as she walked.

"What? You don't think I'm funny?" Natasha teased from beside her, nudging the younger girl in the side.

She rolled her eyes. "I think you are trying really hard to make me laugh."

"Well, is it working?"

Wanda gave the redhead a flat look. Natasha grinned, adjusting her cap to cover her face. "I'll get you to laugh. Just you wait."

Wanda rolled her eyes, but her lips tilted upward in a small grin. "Is Steve back yet?" She asked.

Natasha flicked her eyes toward where they were staying, a small apartment that probably wasn't big enough for the lot of them, and shrugged.

"I never know with him. I only pretend to."

She nodded. "And Sam?"

Natasha rolled her eyes this time. "That man and Bucky never leave Steve's side. It's like they're five year olds fighting for their mom's attention," The older woman said exaggeratedly.

Wanda snickered and Natasha smirked, prodding her. "See? I told you. And it didn't even take two minutes."

The girl groaned, glancing over to Natasha with a sour look. Her eyes widened exponentially, though, when she spotted someone coming up from behind her.

"Natasha!" She hissed. The redhead's eyes widened as she spun around, only to get shot at.

Wanda screamed, recoiling backwards as Natasha fell to the ground, a bullet wound in her stomach.

"Shit, shit, shit!" The girl hissed, stumbling backwards as the man advanced toward her.

Lifting her hands to use her powers, she was about to throw the man backward, when something hit her in the back of the head. Hard.

Wanda crumpled at once, her hands flying to her head with a cry of pain, feeling blood underneath her fingers.

"Wanda. Run." Natasha gritted, struggling to pull herself up.

The younger girl didn't get a chance, before she was hit again, her vision going dark.

She slept.


	2. one

  
**NATASHA** **GASPED PAINFULLY** , glaring uselessly at the ground beside her. The men had taken Wanda, dragging her unconscious body somewhere behind her, and she couldn't exactly crane her neck to see, what with struggling to keep her blood inside her body.

"Fuck," she hissed, wrapping an arm tightly around her middle and shakily making her way to her feet.

Blood dripped between her fingers and she scowled deeply, striding toward the apartment, ignoring her rapidly paling face.

She finally made it to the door a few minutes later, and stumbled against it.

"Barton," she groaned, leaning against the doorway. She heard a thump, and then the door was pulling open.

Clint's brows practically shot to his hairline. "Jesus, Tasha," he mumbled, pulling her inside.

"Barnes!" The archer yelled, gently shoving Natasha onto the couch. She pursed her lips.

"We can't replace this damn couch." She spat.

"We can't replace _you_ either." He snapped as Bucky came around the corner, eyes wide.

"Alcohol, needle, and thread." Clint instructed.

Bucky eyed Natasha for a split second, then nodded firmly and turned around, darting off.

As Clint batted Natasha's arm away, pressing his hands firmly against the wound, he asked, "What happened? Where's Wanda?"

Natasha grunted. "Some assholes shot me and took her. 'm sorry," she panted.

"Not your fault, Nat. Barnes!"

Natasha, satisfied that they knew Wanda was gone, let her eyes roll into the back of her head, falling unconscious.

➵

When Wanda woke, her head was pounding something furious. She groaned, going to reach for it, but pausing as she heard a loud metal clang.

Blinking her eyes open, she squinted down at her hands, finding silver chains wrapped around her wrists.

She scoffed, almost hurt that whoever had taken her thought _that_ would contain her.

Curling her fingers, she expected red swirls to form, but nothing happened. Her eyes widened, jaw dropping.

Tilting her head, she felt something cold against her neck. Her hand flew up, fingers curling around the ridges of the weird collar-like thing around her neck.

Wanda pulled at it, only to feel an intense pain spreading through her body. Crying out, she dropped her hand, squeezing her eyes shut.

It finally stopped what felt like hours later, when in reality it was only a few minutes.

Wanda sat, gasping and panting for air, before slowly, her hand went back up to the collar. Not pulling, but roaming over it.

There didn't seem to be a clasp or an opening, and her brows furrowed in confusion, sweat gleaming on her face.

As she pulled her hands away, she noticed they were visibly shaking, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop it.

With a small, worried sigh, Wanda's gaze traveled from the chains on her wrists to where they connected to the wall.

She stood, her legs trembling, and examined the room. It was dark, the only light coming from the small window in the door directly across from her.

"Hello?" She called, her voice hoarse. Nobody answered. "Hello?" She called again, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Hey! Somebody! Help!" She screamed, her voice cracking.

But nobody responded. Nobody was there.

Wanda slid back to the ground, all alone.


	3. two

  
**WHEN** **WANDA** **WOKE** again, it was to another loud clang.

She was pressed against the wall, her chained arms wrapped around her legs, and her head whipped toward the noise, blinking to adjust to being awake.

The door had opened, then promptly closed again, but now there was a bottle of water in front of it.

Pursing her chapped lips, Wanda glared at the door. "Is this a joke? Is this supposed to be funny?" She screamed, her voice cracked and hoarse from disuse.

She was chained to the fucking wall. How was she supposed to cross it to get to the water? And how did she know it wasn't drugged or something?

With a sigh, she closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall. It was pounding like it had been doing since she'd woken up the first time.

With her every heartbeat, the wound pulsed painfully. Wanda flexed her hands, blinking down at them.

Ever since she'd gotten her powers, back in that HYDRA base with her brother, she'd never not been able to use them.

In fact, she used to struggle keeping them under control. Now, though, their absence was jarring.

She couldn't wait to get the collar off, which she assumed would happen soon. Surely the team would be finding her soon.

They were the Avengers after all. Or, well, the Secret Avengers actually. Technicalities, technicalities.

Suddenly, she began to cough, bringing her hand to her mouth as she heaved harshly.

"Shit." Wanda rasped, reaching desperately for the water.

She didn't care all too much anymore that it could be poisoned. She almost cried, though, when the chain tugged at her wrist painfully, inches from the bottle.

Panicking, she stuck her foot out, noticing for the first time that her boots had been removed. What kind of kidnapper took their captive's footwear?

She didn't have time to wonder about it, being too busy choking on air. After using her foot to nudge the water closer, she swiped it off the ground, opening it and bringing it to her lips.

It took her a few moments, but Wanda eventually stopped coughing, gulping down the water like a lifeline.

It was only once it was empty that she regretted drinking it all so fast. She had no idea how long it would be until her captor would be giving her more, and she'd just drank it all.

Distantly, she wondered about when she'd have to use the restroom, but pushed the thought away with a shudder.

Reaching up, Wanda used her sleeve to wipe the lingering drops of water off her face, then brushed her sweaty hair behind her ear.

She cringed at the grimy feeling. It couldn't have been more than a day, but she already felt like there was a layer of dirt covering her.

With nothing to do but think, Wanda crossed her legs, picking at a loose thread on the seam of her pants.

With the disgusting environment of this place, she found herself almost missing the raft. Almost.

She imagined the funny quips her brother would have about the place. Though Natasha claimed it was so easy to make her laugh, she hadn't much since Pietro had passed.

Wanda stilled in shock. It was the first time in almost two years that she'd thought his name. After he died, she'd shut down, refusing to even think about him for a while.

But lately, she found herself noticing his absence like a missing limb. He used to make her laugh in the darkest of situations, brightening the darkness of their lives.

Wanda let out a shaky breath, tears stinging her eyes. Within a few minutes, tears were rolling down her cheeks.

She _hated_ this place. She was miserable and dirty, but most of all, she was alone.

She was completely and utterly alone. She'd never been alone to this extent before.

Before, she'd had her brother. Then she'd had her team, her family. Even in the raft, most of the rogues were there with her.

But here? In this dark, dank. . . cave-like place? Here, she was all by herself. And it scared her.

Soon, with nothing but her thoughts, Wanda slowly fell asleep.

➵

"How the _hell_ did somebody get the drop on both of you?" Steve snapped, frowning deeply.

"Hell if I know, Steve." Natasha shot back, a muscle in her jaw ticking.

"Do you have _anything_?" Sam questioned, sounding desperate.

"I only saw two men. First one was about 6'2", 170 pounds, strong build. Second one, maybe 5'8"? About 150, weaker, but still strong enough to knock Wanda out." Natasha explained.

"Do you know how many people there are with that build? Nat, that's like looking for a needle in a stack of needles." Clint said, exasperated as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Well, I'm _sorry._ I was too busy getting shot to ask for their numbers." The spy snarked.

"Not her fault. We need to focus on finding her, not placing blame." Sam said, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorway.

"Don't you think we're trying? We don't even know where to start!" Steve hissed angrily.

Then he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily. "I'm sorry, Sam. Just stressed."

"I get it, man. Now, is there anything we could do? Anyone that could help?" Sam directed the last part to everyone in the room.

"Maybe Vision whenever he decides to visit, but we can't just wait." Clint muttered in thought.

"What about Tony?" Natasha asked suddenly.

Everyone looked to her. "I don't know about you, but we ain't on speaking terms with the guy. I'm pretty sure he'd arrest us on sight." Bucky replied with a raised brow.

"And besides, there's no way we could contact him." Clint added.

Steve suddenly became very aware of the phone in his back pocket, freezing like a deer in headlights.

"Steve," Natasha narrowed her eyes, shifting, "you got something to tell us?"

The supersoldier sighed, guiltily reaching into his pocket. "I gave him a phone. We've never talked on it and I can't even be sure he'll pick up, but he has it." The blond explained, pulling the flip phone out for them to see.

Clint swiped it from his hand in an instant, immediately going to the contacts, where Tony Stark's name sat, imposing.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Call him." Sam urged.

Clint pressed call and the phone rang.


	4. three

  
**WANDA WAS STARTING** to think that waking up with a pounding headache was getting old.

As she blinked tiredly, she wiped the crud from her eyes with a soft groan. Her entire body ached from being curled up on the cold, hard ground.

She looked around for the bottle she'd fallen asleep by, only to discover that it wasn't there. Her captor must have taken it when she was unconscious.

The next thing she noticed, was a very uncomfortable feeling down. . . there. She groaned loudly as she realized what it was.

She had to pee, badly. "Hey! Crazy kidnapper dudes! You there?" She yelled, halting to cough. The air in this place was really dry.

Wanda breathed harshly from her nose, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared at the wall, trying to distract herself from her very urgent need to relieve herself.

What kind of monsters didn't let their captives use the bathroom? She huffed. At least on the raft, they'd been allowed certain times to be lead to a very blank restroom.

Wanda yelped as the door opened suddenly, and she saw someone for the first time in over a day.

"Who are you? Why have you taken me?" She demanded, standing.

The man, tall with bland, brown hair and eyes, looked almost bored as he grabbed her arm roughly, pulling out a key and shoving it into the small keyhole on one of the chains.

Wanda waited impatiently as he repeated the process on the other side, then promptly kneed him where the sun doesn't shine.

She tried to run for the door, only to feel that same intense pain from before, and crumpled to the ground with a loud cry.

She gasped for air, hands once again flying toward her neck. She had to remind herself not to pull at the collar, and struggled to her feet again.

The man, apparently fed up with her, grabbed her arm in a bruising grip and dragged her from the room.

She examined the small hallway she was being led down with a scowl. It was bright and clean, surprisingly, unlike the room.

They stopped at another door, which the man opened and shoved her in. "Screw you." She spat at him. He slammed the door closed.

Wanda huffed, looking around. She almost cried in relief at the sight of the toilet and sink. And it even looked to be in pristine condition.

At the moment, she didn't care if there were cameras, taking care of her business. Once done, she wandered over to the sink, souring at the fact that there was no mirror in sight.

She'd planned on breaking it and grabbing a piece of broken glass, maybe stabbing the man. Though, she supposed, that was probably a suspectable plan, and the reason there wasn't a mirror.

Turning the faucet on, she scrubbed at her hands, then closed her eyes, washing her face off.

A second later, she turned it off, using her sleeve as a towel once more. Wanda jolted, nearly stumbling when there was a sudden banging on the door.

"You done?" A deep voice barked.

"He speaks." She grumbled sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

When she didn't respond to him, he opened the door with a frown. Seeing her standing at the sink, he grabbed her arm again, yanking her out of the room and slamming the door closed behind them.

"Hey! What if I had been, like, doing something?" She cried indignantly.

Then she realized that was probably a dumb question to ask her captor. If he had no qualms kidnapping her in broad daylight, with the Avengers a few yards away, then he probably didn't mind peeking at Wanda.

She frowned slightly as she noticed that he wasn't taking her back the way they came.

"Where are we going, you big ugly jerk?" She snarled at him.

Surprise, surprise, he didn't answer.

The girl decided that struggling in his grip wasn't worth the pain the collar would most certainly emit.

Wanda looked around the hallway as he dragged her along silently, her panic growing the longer he led her.

What if he was going to kill her? She quickly threw that thought out the window. He wouldn't have gone through all this trouble just to kill her.

Would he? She shuddered at the thought, nearly tripping over her own feet as he stopped in front of a door.

The man, which Wanda decided to name TK (for Tall Kidnapper) in her head, reached up and knocked loudly on it.

She jumped slightly as it opened with a bang, revealing a shorter man with wild, dark hair and wide eyes.

"Ah. There she is. Bring her in." He said, sounding giddy.

Wanda frowned as he pushed her in, leading her toward a weird dentist-looking chair.

That's when she started to struggle, pulling as hard as she could against his arm.

The short man frowned and grabbed a small device, jabbing a button on it.

Wanda screamed, spasming in TK's arms. As she panted, he slammed her into the chair with a bruising force.

"Take her jacket off, will you?" SK (Short Kidnapper) commented casually, as if he wasn't talking about the young girl they were holding captive.

Wanda grew even more panicked at that, squirming as TK yanked it off of her, revealing a dirty black tank top.

Then, to her increasing anxiety, he clasped restraints around her wrists and ankles.

"Alright, go on." SK said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

TK nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

"What is this? Why have you taken me?" Wanda demanded, eyes wide and slightly crazed.

"Well, Miss Maximoff, why does anyone do anything?" The man mused, reaching for something out of the Sokovian's view.

"You don't strike me as a philosopher." She snarled.

"No, no, I'm more of a doctor." He amended, holding a glistening piece of metal in front of his eyes, squinting at it.

Wanda felt her chest tightening in pure horror. It was a _scalpel_. He was basically holding a medical knife.

"What are you going to do to me?" She whispered, voice wobbling.

Wanda quickly learned that she did miss the raft. She missed it so, _so_ bad.


	5. four

  
**TONY HAD BEEN** having what he classified as an okay day. It wasn't great, he hadn't had one of those for a while, but it wasn't terrible either.

Peter was currently rambling about something or other from the lab table beside him, and he had a date with his fiancée at eight, so currently, his day wasn't bad.

That was, until he heard an unfamiliar phone ringing from his back pocket.

He knew exactly who it was, could hear it continuing to ring as the teen beside him stilled and looked to him in confusion.

"That doesn't sound like your phone." Peter commented, confused.

Tony cleared his throat, also confused. Why the _hell_ would it be ringing?

"Uh," He blanked on words, hand slipping into his pocket to pull out the flip phone, ringing in his hand.

Peter tilted his head in confusion, putting down whatever device he'd been working on.

"You gonna answer it?" The young spiderling asked after a beat.

Tony cleared his throat again, then flipped it open, pressing it to his ear.

"Hey Rogers, called to set up a playdate?" He snarked, ignoring how the kid's eyes widened beside him.

 _"Tony_."

The billionaire narrowed his eyes. "Barton?" He had assumed that the man had been shacking up with the supersoldier, but it still came as a bit of a surprise.

" _Hey, man. Look, I know that we didn't exactly part on the best of terms, but we need your help."_ The archer said, sounding grave.

Tony let out a surprised bark of laughter. "You need _my_ help? Mine?" He breathed incredulously.

" _We wouldn't have come to you if we didn't have any other choice."_ The other man snapped.

"You're sounding real inviting, Legolas, really making me want to help you." He said sarcastically.

There was an exasperated sigh, before what sounded like the phone being taken from his hand, then another voice sounded by his ear.

" _Tony, Wanda is missing. She's been kidnapped and we need your help."_ Natasha ground out.

Tony blinked, scoffing.

"She's probably out on a date with Vision. No need to worry." He snapped.

There was a pause. " _I was there when it happened. Some men took her."_

Tony felt his chest tightening. While he'd never been a big fan of the girl, and she'd certainly never been one of him, he couldn't just do nothing.

She didn't deserve it, no matter what some might think. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"How'd they kidnap a witch with magical powers in front of _the_ Black Widow?" He finally asked.

" _Bullets_."

Tony sighed, glancing to the kid, who was watching him with wide eyes, mouthing something too fast for normal, non-spider people to understand.

"Alright. Get here undetected and I won't call Ross on you. I'll do what I can." He answered, then hung up, shoving the phone a little too forcefully into his pocket.

"What the heck! The Rogue Avengers at coming here?" The teen cried in shock.

"Looks like it. You need to head home, kiddo." He sighed tiredly.

"Are you kidding me? The _Avengers_ are coming!"

"I can assure you it will be a few days at least." Tony retorted, brows raised.

Peter sighed in defeat. "Fine. Okay. But, I can still come over next Friday?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, kid."

Peter seemed happy at that and grabbed his bag from by the door. "Cool! Bye, Mr. Stark!" He called, heading toward the elevator.

"See you, kid." The man called back tiredly. Then, "Have Happy drive you home!"

"Nah, I'll swin-" the doors closed on him and Tony shook his head fondly.

Then he groaned, dropping his head onto the worktable. Since he had no idea where or what time Wanda went missing, there was no way for him to start looking until the rogues got there.

All he could do now was wait.

➵

Wanda's feet dragged along the clean floor as two men carried her down the hall. Her head was bowed, seeing as she was too weak to lift it.

If she'd been a little more conscious, she'd realize that the faint dripping sound she kept hearing was blood falling from her recent wounds.

She flinched as a door creaked open, her ears thanking whatever god there was that it stopped within a few seconds.

The men carrying her (had she come up with names for them? She couldn't remember) threw her to the ground not-so gently and secured metal restraints around her wrists.

Wanda cried out weakly, pulling her hands to her chest. Raising her head, she bared her teeth at them. "Fuck you!" She snarled.

One of them, the angrier looking one, slapped her, her head whipping to the side as her cheek stung.

"Careful how you talk to us, witch." He spat.

"Oh, now you speak?" Wanda croaked sarcastically.

The man sneered at her, then him and his partner turned and left. Wanda let her head rest against the wall, her eyes falling closed.

She flinched slightly again as the door creaked, but soon the men were gone and she was left alone in complete and utter silence.

"What is the point of this?" She screamed, her voice cracking.

All the man had done was _torture_ her. There was no explanation, no meaning to any of it.

Wanda began to weep softly, coughing weakly and squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't want to be here anymore.

She wanted to be at home with Natasha and Steve and the others, or she wanted to be at a hotel with Vision. Hell, she'd choose the raft over this.

Wanda cried until she had no tears left, salty droplets leaving paths on her dirty and bloody cheeks.

With nothing left to do but wallow in her own self pity, she lied down on the ground and hoped to fall asleep before she fell apart.


	6. five

**"ARE YOU SURE** you don't need help, Nat?" Clint asked quietly as they walked.

Natasha shot a glare to him, pulling her hood down a bit further. "Ask me again and I'll break your spine." She responded, gritting her teeth as she hugged her arm around her stomach just a little tighter.

"Nah, you love me too much." He teased, a half grin on his face.

"We're going to get caught and it's going to be because of you." Sam told them flatly.

"Clint's the one being annoying." Natasha pointed out.

"True, but you're contributing to the conversation." He replied.

The redhead rolled her eyes as they came up to Avengers tower. Hesitantly, Steve reached forward, tugging at the door.

It opened instantly, and a wave of anxiousness flooded from him. "Come on, team." He instructed.

Bucky rolled his eyes at his friend's wording, but they all followed him in nonetheless, keeping their heads down as they walked to the private elevator.

Once safely inside, Natasha spoke up, "Take us up to where Tony is, please, FRIDAY." She said softly.

There was a pause before the AI answered. "Of course, Miss Romanova." She didn't miss how the AI had dropped the title 'Agent'.

The elevator began rising and the Rogues glanced between each other, prepared for anything.

What they didn't expect, was the elevator opening to reveal Tony leaning against the island in the kitchenette attached to the common room.

"Liars and traitors! Hey! How's it going?" He greeted, raising a glass of what looked to be scotch to them, before taking a drink.

They eyed him warily. "Apple juice, don't worry." He assured with an eye roll. His gaze landed on Natasha's stomach and he squinted.

"Tony." Steve greeted thankfully.

"Rogers." The billionaire returned bitterly.

"Listen, thank you so much for this. You had no reason to help us-"

"You're right. I don't. But the kid doesn't deserve to be held captive by whoever." Tony snarked.

"Tony, we're trying to say thank you, so shut up and accept it." Natasha snapped.

Tony blinked at her. "Nice to see you too, Natashalie. Now, can someone tell me where and when she was taken?"

They looked between each other, before Sam began to explain all that had happened.

➵

Tony ran his hand over his face, struggling to keep his eyes open. He'd pored through every bit of data, available and not, and there was no trace of Wanda.

After she'd been taken, he lost sight of the vehicle on traffic cams and it was like she disappeared off the face of the Earth.

He was sat, his head resting in his hand as his gaze raked over his laptop.

The Rogues were scattered around the room, sitting around and being useless. Natasha had tried to hack some systems for a little while, before she fell asleep draped across Clint and Bucky's laps, and Steve and Sam could only sit and brood.

A hand landed on Tony's shoulder suddenly and he gasped, flinching away from Steve, who looked down in something akin to shame.

"Sorry, sorry, Tony." He murmured.

"What do you want?" Tony snapped.

"I just. . . wanted to know if you've found anything about Wanda yet?" He asked hesitantly.

"If I had something, I'd tell you! For now just let me work!" Tony snarled.

Steve recoiled. "Right, right."

The others eyed him, mixed emotions on their faces.

The elevator dinged suddenly, shocking all of them. "I swear, if another superhero comes waltzing in here-" Tony groaned, only to freeze, eyes widening as a familiar frowning face came into view.

"Hey, Tony." Rhodey greeted in a false cheery tone, "Mind telling me why FRIDAY told me the Rogue Avengers were in the tower?"

"Hey, Platypus." Tony said weakly.

Natasha was awake now, sitting up, alert.

"Colonel Rhodes." Steve greeted professionally, nodding to him.

"Rogers." Rhodey returned, crossing his arms.

Turning his head to his friend, Rhodey frowned. "Explain."

"Maximoff's been kidnapped, Honeybear. They came to me for help." Tony said tiredly.

"And how long ago was this?" Rhodey snapped.

"Few days now." Tony replied honestly.

Rhodey sighed heavily through his nose. Vision was suddenly levitating through the wall, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Hey man." Sam greeted Rhodey quietly, pure guilt on his face as he eyed the other man's leg braces.

Rhodey only sighed again. "Hey Sam. We'll be talking later, Tones."

"Hello. May I ask what the meaning of this impromptu meeting is?" The Android asked in confusion.

Tony glanced to him blankly. "Your girlfriend's been kidnapped. I'm helping the Rogues get her back." He said, his voice flat.

Vision didn't even try to defend himself. He, for once, seemed at a loss for words. "I. . ."

"Wanda is missing?" He settled on.

"Sorry, Vision," Natasha spoke, "some armed men took her. Shot me to stop me." She explained.

"You are not at fault, Agent Romanova." Vision murmured softly, sounding concerned.

"Think you can help me out?" Tony questioned, waving his hand over the laptop where he currently has dozens of searches open and running.

"I can try, Sir." Vision responded, floatkng over and gently picking up the device.

Rhodey turned and strode from the room. Tony sighed and dropped his head in his hands.

The last time he'd been this stressed was during Siberia, and that was saying something.

Soon, they fell back into an uncomfortable, uneasy silence, only putting up with each other's presence to find Wanda.

➵

"Tell me," Wanda drawled, her lips pulled up in a snarl, "is kidnapping young girls a hobby of yours?"

SK grinned down at her. "One of many." He joked.

Wanda rolled her eyes and would have crossed her arms if they weren't tied down.

"Why are you doing this?" She questioned, coughing harshly.

"Well that would be spoiling the fun, wouldn't it?" SK returned, smirking.

"You and I," she panted, "have very different definitions of fun."

He captor laughed, he actually laughed. "I suppose we do, Miss Maximoff." He paused for a minute, as if contemplating.

"Have you ever had electroshock therapy? It's something I've been wanting to try." He mused.

Wanda stared at him in horror. Bucky had told them some of the horrors he'd been put through at HYDRA, and if this was anything like that. . .

"No. No, please, no." She croaked, tears stinging her eyes.

SK seemed pleasured by her reaction, reaching behind her to grab something, then securing it around her head.

"Please don't do this." Her voice broke on the last word.

SK smiled and flipped a switch.

Wanda _screamed_.


	7. six

**WANDA'S** **THOUGHTS WERE** jumbled when she came back to consciousness. She blinked blearily, a haze of confusion settling over her. 

Her breaths were crackly and rasping, the result of the strain put on her body. She didn't know how long she'd been here, only that it was a while. A few days at least. Maybe more, maybe less. 

She barely remembered being electrocuted. All she could recollect was flashes of absolute agony and her ears ringing from the volume of her screams. 

Wanda shuddered, hugging her knees to her chest. She noted faintly that she hadn't been fed once while she was here, and since she was still alive, she must have been here for less than three weeks. 

Still, she didn't know how much longer she could live like this. They gave her water sometimes and they brought her to the bathroom every morning to do her business, but they didn't exactly have the greatest hospitality. 

Every morning (she thought it was morning, she couldn't quite tell), without fail, TK would come in to drag her down to the freaking _torture room_ where SK would do whatever he thought might be fun.

There used to be two guards escorting her, but now they didn't bother. She was normally too weak to even lift her head, let alone try to escape. Wanda took a moment to reach a shaky hand up and try to comb her fingers through her tangled and dirty hair. 

She didn't even make it half an inch before her fingers snagged on a tangle. A small sob erupted from her quivering lips. It made no sense that she was crying over her damn _hair_. 

She had many reasons to be crying; torture, solitude, pain, _anything else._ Yet she was crying over her hair. Soon, Wanda dissolved into tears, crying pitifully as she hugged her bony limbs to her chest. 

"I want to go home." She croaked, tears rolling down her face. She didn't even know where home was, but she wanted to be there. She wished she wasn't so alone. 

She was tired and dirty and cold and _anything_ would be better than this. God, death would be better than this. Wanda stifled her sobs suddenly, shocked at her own thoughts. 

Did she really want to die? Was she really willing to die to escape this place? And she began crying harder, because the answer was _yes._ Anything to make it all stop. 

Wanda wept, her head in her arms as she shook. At this point, she didn't even know if the team was looking for her anymore. They were the Avengers, wouldn't they have found her within a few days?

Had they even looked? Wanda shook the doubt away, sniffling. Of course they looked. They _were_ looking. They had to be. Right?

She leant her head back against the wall, eyes closed as she struggled not to cry for the millionth time.

A small, weak laugh bursted from her lips as she suddenly mused whether or not she had any tears left.

Opening her eyes, she let her gaze drift over the room sadly. Wanda clenched her fists, begging her powers to just _work._

A sob erupted from her throat as they, of course, didn't. Why? Why did they do this? Why did they take her? Why _her_?

"Please," She sobbed into the empty space, "just let me go. Let me go. I want to go home."

But no one listened. No one was there to listen to her. She was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

➵

Tony gasped awake, feeling a phantom shield crashing into his chest, an imaginary cold seeping into his pores.

"Tony? You alright?" Steve questioned, concerned.

The billionaire hummed in affirmation, resting his chin in his hand. He must have fallen asleep at his computer again.

Lately, that was that only sleep he was getting, and the only food he got was nudged in front of him by one of the Rogues every once in a while.

It had been almost two weeks since Wanda had been missing now, a little over a week since the others had come back into his life.

And he still had absolutely no idea where the kid was. It was like Wanda had disappeared off the face of the Earth, and he was growing more agitated as the days passed.

He just wanted to find her so the Rogues would leave and never come back. He was so fucking tired of tensing every time Steve or Bucky moved, of gasping and flinching away from their touches.

And he was _so_ tired of the nightmares. He thought he'd been getting better, but them returning was making him fall apart all over again.

"Boss, Mr. Parker is on his way up." FRIDAY suddenly announced.

Tony froze, eyes widening. "Shit," he hissed, ignoring how the others looked up in confusion, "uh, what's today?"

"It's Friday, Boss." FRIDAY said in a flat tone. He normally would have snickered, but his chest suddenly felt tight with fear.

"Uh," before he could say anything else, the elevator doors dinged and out stepped one excited Peter Parker.

"Mr. Stark!" Then he spotted the others in the room, his eyes widened and his jaw dropping.

"Holy crap." He breathed.

Tony sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face.

"Hey, kid." He'd hoped they'd be gone by the time the kid came by again.

"Who's this, Tony?" Clint asked, frowning.

"Pete, want to introduce yourself?" Tony questioned.

"U-uh, yeah! Hi everyone, I'm Peter Parker. Big fan." He said with a wide smile and a little wave.

Tony dropped his head onto the table with a groan as the team gasped in revelation.

"W-what did I do?" Peter squeaked in concern.

" _I'm Spider-Man. Big fan. Hi everyone."_ Tony mocked what everyone was thinking.

Peter's cheeks burned red as he looked to the ground in embarrassment.

"Tony, you brought a _kid_ into this?" Natasha demanded.

The others all seemed to agree with her questioned. "Tell me, how old is Maximoff? Because the kid is seventeen." He growled.

"So you _do_ remember my age. That's _proof_ I'm not a twelve year old." Peter insisted, not noticing the tense mood.

"Wanda is an adult." Steve snapped, stepping forward.

Tony couldn't help but flinch back. "Yeah? Simple math, two years ago she was seventeen. Made her a kid too. Don't try to reprimand me about something you're just as guilty of doing." He snarled, standing up with clenched, trembling fists.

"You should have told us he's a kid! He could have been seriously hurt!" Steve cried.

"Oh, don't you _ever_ tell me not to keep secrets, Rogers. You're the best fucking secret keeper I've ever known," he scoffed, taking pride in the rapidly paling of Steve and Bucky's faces, "I mean, I couldn't last two weeks, let alone two years." He said coolly.

"Mr. Stark? Uh, what's happening?" Peter asked quietly, and Tony's face softened as he looked over at the boy.

"Sorry, bud. I thought they'd be gone before you came around. No lab day today. You should have Happy take you home." He sighed out, suddenly depleted.

Peter took a long, hard look at his mentor, eying his shaking hands, then turned his gaze to Steve, who was standing just a little bit too close for his comfort.

"No." He said firmly.

"No?" Tony questioned, surprised.

Peter stepped in front of Tony, glaring straight into Steve's eyes. "No," he confirmed.

"You never told him?" Natasha's quiet voice interrupted the tense silence. "You told me you would tell him."

Tony felt his breathing picking up and clasped a hand on Peter's shoulder, pulling him back a bit.

He didn't like Steve being so close to his kid. "Actually, let's go to the lab." He let out in a strained voice.

"You're going to tinker while Wanda is missing?" Sam asked in disbelief and slight anger.

"There's computers in the lab." Peter snapped, seeming to understand that Tony couldn't really talk at the moment.

"Steve," Natasha began as Tony and Peter started for the elevator, "you've got some explaining to do."

Tony pretended he didn't notice Peter leaning into his side, but he knew it was more for him than the kid. He was grateful for it anyway.

➵

Miles away, Wanda cried herself to sleep.


	8. seven

**WHEN WANDA WOKE** for what seemed to be the millionth time, she didn't notice anything different at first. She was still curled up in a small ball, bloody and dirty with her thin arms wrapped tightly around legs, chains secured around her bony wrists. 

As she stared down at her trembling hands (they never seemed to stop), she noticed that the chains were almost too big. Soon, she might even be able to slip out, she mused.

Her entire body stilled at that thought. Her hands were barely even shaking anymore. Wanda's eyes widened and she made her hand as small as possible, trying to gradually slip the cuff off. 

It didn't work. They were too small. Despite having known her chances were slim and that she probably wouldn't have made it out the door before she was caught, it still made her eyes sting in frustration. 

She thought about breaking her thumb like Natasha had taught her, but even as she pressed her fingers against the bone, she knew she wouldn't be able to do it. 

It was simple, break her thumb and have the slightest chance of escape, or keep her hands uninjured and stay exactly where she was. A sob slipped from her throat as she pressed her palms into her eyes. 

Natasha or Bucky would be able to do it without even blinking, but she couldn't. She just _couldn't._ She cried harder. 

They'd be so disappointed in her. She had a means of escape, right there. All she had to do was put up with a little bit more pain and she'd be _free_. Wanda wouldn't be surprised if they just left her here to rot.

Once her cries finally subsided, her breaths were trembling along with her hands. She'd just have to wait. Only a little longer. Once she was skinnier, once her wrists and hands were thinner, she'd be able to slip out. 

She just had to wait. And it was that precise moment that she recalled there was something by the door. Two somethings. A water bottle, and a plate of food. Tears stung Wanda's eyes. 

It was simply a sandwich. Two slices of bread with a piece of meat just barely visible. It was _food._ The only food she'd been presented the whole, what, two and a half weeks? If she didn't eat soon, she probably wouldn't make it. 

But if she did eat, she surely wouldn't. Wanda took a deep breath and stuck out her leg, pulling the water close with her foot. She opened it and took a small drink. 

Then, learning from her previous mistakes, she closed it and set it beside her. Her captors had been generous so far with water, but they could choose at any time to stop giving it to her. She couldn't risk it. 

Wanda didn't just hear the silence in the room, she felt it. Besides her ragged breaths and the occasional clink of her chains as she shifted, it was painfully quiet in this place. 

Leaning her head back against the wall, she began to hum quietly. Tears rolled down her face, tickling her cheeks and nose, but she didn't wipe them away. She didn't think she could. 

Wanda continued to hum, long into the night. She couldn't sleep. Couldn't escape. Her humming faltered for a moment as a devastating thought suddenly hit her. 

She missed home _._ She missed how Natasha's eyes lit up when she smiled, or how Steve would give her that sad, adoring smile when she talked about Sokovia, or how Sam and Bucky pretended to hate each other but were actually friends. She missed how Clint would ruffle her hair and tease her. She missed her meetings with Vision where he'd hold her and she'd feel like the most important person earth. 

She missed it. For the first time since she'd been taken, she wailed for her family, cried loudly for her team. Wanda finally knew where home was, and she wanted it so, _so_ bad. 

She wanted _them_. 

➵

"Miss Maximoff!" 

Wanda yelped as she woke, eyes snapping open in terror as she scrambled backwards. TK was stalking in, key in hand. Closing her eyes, she tried to steady her breathing as he unlocked her chains and pulled her up. 

As soon as she tried to put weight on her feet, her legs buckled from underneath her and TK was forced to drag her down the hall for a few seconds as she scrambled to get her feet on the ground. 

Finally, she was just barely stumbling along beside him, blinking rapidly in confusion. "Where goin'?" Wanda slurred as he turned down another hall, away from the room she was normally brought to. 

He, of course, didn't answer. Soon enough, her question was answered as he pulled another door open, pulling her in. There was a screen covering one entire wall, and here was a metal chair in the center of the room. 

TK secured her hands and feet in it, and she knew better than to fight him. He left the room immediately, and Wanda was just too tired to call after him. What was this? 

"Are you going to make me watch a movie? It's not much of a torture technique!" She yelled, her voice cracking from disuse and strain.

Obviously, there was no answer. Wanda sighed and looked down st the restraints, pulling at them weakly. Her eyes widened as hope suddenly coiled in her chest. These restraints were too big. 

They'd been made for someone not starving to death, someone more than skin and bones. _She could slip out._

It seemed almost ironic, that just hours ago she'd been sobbing because she couldn't get out of her restraints, now it was _easy._

With a few quick tugs, her hands were free and she was rubbing her bruised wrists. A small hopeful smile made its way to her lips and she bent down, quickly unclasping her ankles. 

Just as she was about to stand up, the screen clicked on. Wanda remained sitting, her curiosity getting the better of her. Her smile quickly became a horrified frown, though as she saw very familiar people on the screen. 

The video showed the backs of people's heads. Six people. A blond, Steve. Long haired brunet, Bucky. Dark skinned and short hair, Sam. Sandy blond hair, Clint. Curly red hair, Natasha. Familiar red skin, Vision. 

"Oh god. No, no, what is this?" Wanda croaked, shaking in terror. 

"What is this?" She screamed. Nobody answered, and there was suddenly the unmistakable sound of six gunshots going off. Wanda screamed in terror, flinching violently as blood splattered on the screen, the bodies all slumping in the chairs, dead. 

Tears were rolling down her face before she knew it, and the screen flicked off. A voice rung through the air, presumedly from a speaker somewhere in the room. " _You are all alone, Miss Maximoff. Nobody is coming to save you."_

She didn't scream or sob, just continued to stare at the screen with wide, tearful eyes. They were dead. Her captors had killed her team, her _family._

She didn't have a home to go back to now. And it _broke_ her. 

She had no reason or want to escape anymore, no reason to try. When the door flew up and TK came in to grab her, Wanda hung limply in his arms. She didn't care anymore. 

She didn't think she ever would again.


	9. eight

  
**"MISS** **ROMANOVA** **IS** requesting your presence, Boss." FRIDAY suddenly announced, making Tony jolt in shock. 

"What? Why?" He asked incredulously, glancing at Peter, who was passed out at the workbench. 

"She didn't specify." FRIDY replied. 

Tony ran a hand down his face, sighing. "I'm guessing the whole team is still up there?" He said begrudgingly.

"Yes, Boss." 

The billionaire groaned, standing up and stretching. "Time to get yelled at for something or the other." He mumbled, stalking toward the elevator. 

As he waited to get to the common floor, Tony thought over what Natasha had said before he'd head down to the lab with his kid. Did that mean she'd know too?

He felt a headache growing as he pinched he bridge of his nose. With the stress of the Civil War and the fact that they were no closer to finding Wanda made him want to bash his head against the wall until everything went dark. 

Tony began to wonder if Wanda was even alive. She'd been taken over two weeks ago, and she was a good looking young woman. There were some terrible people out there, and as much as he didn't want to believe it, everyday she was gone increased the chances of her never being found. 

Just as a scowl began to paint his lips, the elevator dinged, doors opening. "Natashalie, you called for me?" He greeted sarcastically, stepping into the room with his hands stuffed in his pockets. 

The Rogues all looked to him in guilt, except for Steve, who couldn't meet his eyes. Tony raised a brow in confusion. "Tony. . . We had no idea." Clint said quietly, breaching the tense and awkward silence. 

"Know what?" Tony said, his bemusement evident in his voice. 

"About your parents." Sam piped up. 

Tony immediately narrowed his eyes, fists clenching in his pockets. "Okay." He gritted. 

"Steve never told them what happened. Thought he did." Bucky grunted. Tony looked to the soldier in shock. It was the first time he'd spoken to him since Siberia. 

"Oh, you keep secrets from lots of people now, Rogers?" Tony snarked, a fiery anger in his eyes. 

Steve winced. "Look, Tony. . . I know I made a lot of mistakes-"

Tony let out a bark of laughter. "You think?" He shook his head bitterly, "I think the best part is that I probably would have understood if you'd told me when you found out. Might have even helped with your search for the parent-killer." He spat. 

Bucky didn't react to the insult at all. 

"Tony, I'm sorry. I thought you knew. Steve told me he would tell you." Natasha said, her eyes showing emotion for once. 

Tony's gaze shot to her. "I'm not blaming you, Nat," he definitely noticed how something in her face changed, "you were lied to, too."

The billionaire looked at all of them. "Never blamed any of you but Rogers. Not even Barnes."

Bucky looked slightly surprised at that. 

"Tony, I. . ." Steve trailed off, gaze on the ground like a kicked puppy, "I'm _so_ sorry. I just. . . Bucky means everything to me. He's been my best friend since before I can remember. I thought he was dead, and then suddenly he was alive. When I found out, I wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you so bad. But I couldn't risk you hurting him, or worse, killing him."

Tony looked mildly offended, opening his mouth to speak, but stopping as Steve continued. 

"Tell me, if the roles were reversed, if it was Colonel Rhodes that killed _my_ parents, wouldn't you keep it a secret?" 

Tony huffed out an annoyed laugh. "No. Of course not. I'd have a few suits on standby to hold you back when I told you, but that's not something you keep from someone, Steve."

Neither of them noticed that it was the first time Tony had called him by his first name for two years. "I. . ." Steve trailed off yet again. 

"I suppose there's nothing else I can really say, and I think if I apologize again I'm going to get hit." He joked weakly. 

Tony glared at him for a solid minute, before he finally spoke again. "If Barnes needs a new arm, I'd be happy to whip one up, seeing as I blasted the last one to bits." He decided on. 

Bucky blinked in shock, glancing from his stump to the billionaire. "Thank you." He said. 

Tony only nodded. 

"Boss." FRIDAY suddenly said, sounding alarmed. 

"What is it, FRI? Pete okay?" Tony asked worriedly. 

"Mr. Parker is fine. I've found something alarming on a back channel." The AI told them. 

Tony raised a brow. "Well? What is it?" 

"It seems to be a. . . video."

➵

The first thing that Wanda became aware of was a repetitive dripping sound that grated at her ears. She stared lazily at the ceiling she was becoming familiar with, dark gray and plain. 

The next thing she became aware of was the spiking pain in her head and the disgusting sticky feeling on the side of her face. Reaching a tired hand up, she felt drying blood coating her face and hair.

Wanda frowned slightly, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Her fingers brushed along a painful cut and all she could do was sigh heavily from exhaustion. 

She dropped her hand back to her side and lolled her head to the side to get a look at her other arm. There was a needle stabbed into the inside of her elbow, leading to a bag of. . . something. 

Wanda couldn’t find it in herself to care. If it was water, then she’d live another day. If it was poison, oh well. At this point, with nothing for her left, maybe dying would be better. 

Her eyes trailed around the room. It was the room she’d been tortured in countless times before, where her hands had been restrained at her sides at all times. Wanda didn’t know what it meant now that she was free to do anything, trusted to be alone. 

And she didn’t care. Closing her eyes, she fell back asleep, and wouldn’t be necessarily disappointed if she didn’t wake up.


	10. nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: (SPOILERS) kind of graphic suicide attempt

**"PLAY IT AGAIN** ," Tony demanded, brows furrowed as he stared at the holographic screen. 

"Boss, I don't think-"

"Again." 

FRIDAY sighed and played the video for what seemed to be the millionth time. 

"It just doesn't make sense." He grumbled, sighing. 

"Why would somebody make a video like this? Kill innocent people just because they looked like us?" Steve asked, a troubled frown on his face. 

"I don't think it's just because they looked like us, Steve." Clint said unsurely as FRIDAY repeated the video again silently. 

Tony flinched again as he watched the bodies slump, blood spraying the camera. Again. "Where are we on tracing it?" He asked again. 

"Not very far, Boss. Whoever made the video has very strong firewalls." FRIDAY replied gravely. 

"Strong enough to fight against you for over a week? _Try harder_." Tony growled.

"How do we even know this was made by the people that took Wanda? Why would they make it?" Sam questioned, his arms crossed over his chest as he leant back against the sofa. 

Natasha, who had been silent the whole time and staring intently at the wall, suddenly leant forward and spoke. "I think it was made for her." 

Steve shot a confused glance to her. "What do you mean, _for_ her? You think she wanted them to make it?" 

"No." Bucky said, eyes widening as he understood what Natasha had been thinking. 

"I think whoever took her showed it to her. And I think Wanda thinks she's alone." Natasha explained quietly, her eyes swimming with emotion.

They all sat there in a grim silence, nobody knowing what to say or do. All they could do was hope. Hope Wanda was okay, hope she was alive.

➵

Wanda hummed, a broken sound, as SK stood beside the chair with a grin. "Goodbye, Miss Maximoff." He said in a singsong voice, making sure her IV was in place. 

She blinked sluggishly, eyes trailing after the man as he left the room. Once again, Wanda closed her eyes, prepared to sleep until she was next awoken, when something forced her to blink them back open again. 

There was a glint of metal on one of the trays that held many tools of torture, and Wanda recognized it as a bloody scalpel. She stared at it for at least five minutes, wondering _why_ she couldn't look away. 

And it suddenly hit her. The past days, she'd been barely hanging on, not living, but just existing as she was beaten and tortured and drugged. And she was alone. 

She was so alone it hurt. She could feel an emptiness in her chest that never seemed to go away. And she wanted it to _stop._ She wanted the pain and the tears to stop. 

She wanted _everything_ to stop. Sitting up with a small sound of pain, Wanda pulled the needle from her arm, barely registering as blood dripped from the small hole, dropping onto the ground. 

Slowly, Wanda made her way to shaky legs, stumbling over to the tray. It took her trembling hands a few tries to swipe the tool up, but her fingers eventually clasped around the scalpel, and she fell back into the chair with a large sigh. 

Maybe she'd see her brother again. Maybe she'd see her parents and the team. Maybe she'd be free. Tears stung her eyes and Wanda let out a shuddering breath, before gripping the blade so tight it hurt. 

Then, she brought it over to her left arm and pressed it against her skin, against the easily visible vein running up her arm. She sobbed as she pressed harder, her skin splitting and blood welling up. 

With a harsh tug, the blade ran up her arm, blood spilling quicker than Wanda could breathe. The blade fell from her hand as she wailed, clutching her wounded arm in agony. 

She heard yelling and running but she didn't care. All that mattered was how fast she was losing blood. She'd be gone soon. Her nails dug painfully into her arm as she squeezed, the wound _burning,_

She'd known it would hurt, but that didn't make it feel any better. As she curled in on herself, she heard the door slam open, and through her blurry vision, she could spot SK glaring down at her as he rushed toward her. 

"You stupid, _stupid_ girl!" He roared, grabbing her arm harshly and yanking it toward himself. 

Wanda screamed in pain, sobbing and struggling against him. She didn't want him to fix her. She just wanted to _die!_

Black spots danced across her vision soon and she couldn't quite feel her arm anymore. She couldn't feel anything. As her eyes fell closed, she prayed they'd never open again. 

➵

When she woke with a stitched and bandaged arm, restraints on her hands again, she wept.


	11. ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for what you’ve aaalll been waiting for

**WANDA HUMMED SOFTLY** as she stared up at the ceiling, tears rolling down her cheeks. They never seemed to stop coming anymore. 

"In a bad mood, Miss Maximoff?" SK joked with a calm smile as he came to stand beside her. 

She only kept staring at the ceiling, humming a bit louder. SK barked out a small laugh. "Oh, dear, you cannot drown out my voice. It will stay with you, always." He said firmly, leaning close to her ear. 

Wanda's breath stuttered and her humming faltered, because it was _true_. Every time her eyes fell closed, SK's sickly smile would be there to greet her, his voice ringing in her ears. 

She began humming anew when she heard the clinking sound of his metal instruments as he readied them. "Tell me, do you know how long you've been with us, Miss Maximoff?" SK wondered aloud, turning to her with his hands in his pockets. 

Blinking, Wanda's gaze slid toward him. "No." She rasped, knowing better than to not respond. 

SK smiled. "A few days short of a month, dear." He explained with a grin. Wanda closed her eyes, her face contorting in anguish. 

"You lasted a lot longer than we thought you would, Miss Maximoff. You were stronger than we estimated." He said, tilting his head. 

Wanda sniffed, blinking her eyes back open. She noticed how he said 'were' instead of 'are', and it was true. They had broken her. 

She was alone, and she was in pain, and she'd be willing to do _anything_ to get it to stop. 

"If I took off your restraints right now," she looked to him in confusion, "what would you do?"

She frowned up at him. What _could_ she do? Wanda shrugged. 

"You're not going to try and kill yourself again, are you?" SK asked sarcastically, an annoyed glint in his eyes at the prospect. 

She shook her head, he wouldn't let her. He'd just fix her again. SK nodded, seemingly approving her answer, and reached toward her hands, slowly unclasping them. 

"And if I took of the collar?" 

Wanda huffed slightly. "What game are you playing?" She croaked, pulling her hands to her chest and wincing at the slight pull of her stitches as she moved her arm. 

SK only raised a brow, awaiting her answer. Wanda sighed softly, looking to the ground. Maybe before, she would have fought him. Maybe before, she would have tried to escape. But now? All the fight had left her.

"Nothing." She whispered. 

SK smiled widely, then grabbed a remote, the one he'd used to send that intense pain through her. Wanda tended, preparing for the agony, when suddenly she heard a click. 

The collar felt loose. Hesitantly, she reached up, meeting his eyes. He nodded encouragingly and Wanda was definitely creeped out by his sudden hospitality. 

Curling her fingers around the collar, she yanked it off by a sudden opening in the back. It scraped her neck as she pulled it off, but she didn't really notice as blood rolled down her skin. 

She was covered in it now. With a shuddering breath, she looked to him again. "Why? Why are you doing this? Why now?" 

He only smiled creepily, and didn't answer. "My name is Alexander Zeller, Miss Maximoff." 

Wanda jolted in shock, her eyes widening. Natasha had told her that if your captor told you their name, they most likely didn't plan on you leaving, _ever._

Tears stung her eyes at the thought of Natasha. Her breaths were shaky as her vision blurred. She missed her, missed _them_ so, so bad. 

"What do you _want_ with me?" Her voice broke as she looked to him, tears streaking down her face. 

"Oh dear, I don't _want_ anything from you. I already have it." Zeller said with a sly smile, reaching out and resting his hand on her arm. 

Something inside her _exploded._

"No." Wanda hissed, eyes flashing a dangerous red. "You will _never_ have what you want from me! I'm done!" She screamed, a burst of red throwing Zeller and everything else away from her. 

Wanda stood on trembling legs, panting heavily. "I am _done_ being your captive, I am done with your cryptic words, and I am done with this god forsaken place!" She roared, bringing her hands up. 

The building exploded around her, and everything went dark.

➵

“Boss!” FRIDAY suddenly cried, scaring everyone in the room. 

“Gah! What it it FRI?” Tony asked, brows furrowed as concern flooded his face. 

“My sensors have picked up a major explosion just outside of the city, and I presume Miss Maximoff’s abilities were the cause of it.” The AI said, sounding almost relieved. 

Tony’s eyes widened, and Natasha sat up from her spot on the couch, eyes narrowed and alert. 

“You found her?” The spy breathed hopefully. 

“I believe so. I’m setting the coordinates into the quinjet as we speak.” FRIDAY responded happily. 

The Avengers leapt up and sprinted for their gear. They were coming for her.


	12. eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I’ve got some stuff no one cares about down there

**WHEN WANDA CAME** back to consciousness, she got everything in pieces. She felt strong arms lifting her out of rubble. 

She heard soothing voices in her ears and gentle touches on her face. Everything went black again after that. 

Then there were more voices. Familiar voices that made her brows furrow and her heart hurt. 

There was a soft bed. There was a hand in hers. There was a medical smell that she'd grown so used to. 

But there was something else. There was _home._

For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt at home. The voices and the touches and the smells felt like home. 

Finally, everything began to come together. Her head was pounding and her entire body had a dull ache settled over it. There was a loud, annoying beeping beside her head, and there was a soft, calloused hand in hers. 

A quiet groan escaped her as she frowned, her fingers twitching. Suddenly the soft whispers that had been floating through the room silenced. After a small moment, Wanda peeled her eyes open, squinting up at the bright light. 

"Mm?" She hummed, her voice cracking from disuse. 

She coughed harshly at that, her throat dry. Where was she? A hospital? 

"Wanda." A familiar voice breathed. 

She jolted in terror, eyes snapping open wide as she sat up, her body aching in protest. Wanda pulled her hand away as if burned as she took in the tired faces of the team. No, _no._

They were dead. What was this? Even Tony was there. Why Tony? What the hell was this? "No." She croaked, eyes stinging as her breaths began coming fast and faster.

"Hey, hey, Wanda it's okay. It's alright, you're home." Steve rushed out softly, a sad look on his face as his blue eyes bored into hers. 

" _No_!" She cried, eyes raking over them with a wild look on her face, "Dead!"

"Wanda, listen to my voice, alright?" Natasha spoke. 

Wanda looked to her with wide, terrified eyes. 

"We are not dead. The video you were shown was not us. The people that were killed were made up to look like us. We are okay. You are okay." She said slowly and firmly, looking straight into Wanda's eyes. 

Wanda's lips quivered. Could it really be true? "Wh. . ." She trailed off, looking to Tony, then back to Natasha, "Why are we here? Stark hates us, does he not?"

Said man winced. "Yeah. . . I never hated you, Little Witch." He said softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Me and the team have got some kinks to work out, but I don't hate any of you."

Wanda sat there, blinking at them. Tears were filling her eyes again, not because she was sad, but because she was relieved. "I- I-" She didn't know what to say. 

Natasha went to grab Wanda's hand in a motherly gesture, but Wanda flinched back violently, gasping. 

"I'm sorry. S-sorry." She whispered, holding her hands to her chest. 

Vision looked to her sadly and Wanda couldn't help the tears that began to drip from her eyes. 

"Why don't we give her some space, guys." Natasha said, standing slowly. The others nodded. 

"I'm glad you're alright, Red." Clint said softly. 

Wanda was blinking rapidly, nodding to him. 

"We'll see you later, yeah?" Steve said kindly, shooting her a sad smile. 

One by one, they began to file out of the room until only Natasha and Vision were left. "I. . ." Vision looked to the ground, then back up to her, "I am so very sorry for not finding you sooner, Wanda. Forgive me."

"N-not you fault, Vis." She murmured, shakily wiping away her tears. 

Vision smiled sadly, seeming to disagree, and walked out the door. Wanda vaguely wondered why he wasn't levitating like normal. 

Finally, Natasha started speaking again. "The doctors cleaned you as best as they could while you were unconscious, but I know from experience you'll want to shower. Do you think you'll need help?"

Wanda's eyes widened at the prospect of someone seeing her so vulnerable. "N-no. I can do it alone." She whispered quietly, staring at the thin sheet on her legs.

"Alright, I'll go get you a set of clothes then, yeah?" The redhead started, about to turn for the door. 

"No!" Wanda cried suddenly, scaring both of them. 

"Don't go. Please." Her voice broke. 

Natasha's face softened. "Of course. FRIDAY, can you have Vision bring Wanda a set of clothes?"

"Right away, Agent Romanova." The AI responded, causing Wanda to jolt slightly in shock. She'd sort of forgotten about FRIDAY.

Something about what the AI said made Natasha's lips quirk up, but the smile was gone so fast Wanda was sure she imagined it. 

Wanda sniffed looking to the EKG machine beside her and following the wires with her eyes toward her chest. 

Natasha walked around the side of the bed. "Seeing as you aren't injured enough that you could die, we won't need this." She declared switching it off. 

Wanda winced at her words, glancing to her wrist for a moment, before looking back to the spy. He pr head immediately thanked the other woman as her headache began to hurt just a little less. 

Wanda began pulling the stickers off of herself and turned, throwing the sheet off her legs. 

Bare, bruised, and pale legs were visible, seeing as all she was wearing was a hospital gown. That's when vision walked in, soft-looking clothes in his arms. "Here you are, Wanda." He said softly, slowly handing them to her. 

Wanda took them in trembling hands and used the bed to stand, shivering as her bare feet touched the cold ground. Vision nodded to her, before he turned and left again. 

"Do you want me to stay out here?" Natasha asked softly. 

Wanda'nodded, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. She was acting as though she was th ee. But Natasha didn't complain, she simply sat back in the chair she'd been in before and waited. 

Slowly, Wanda made her was across the room to the attached bathroom, pulling open the door with a small breath of relief. As soon as she stepped in, she closed and locked the door. She didn't want anyone getting in. 

What if TK barged in again? Wanda blinked, frowning as she set the clothes on the counter. TK couldn't barge in. She was at the compound. She was safe.

But then again, she thought she'd been safe when she was walking with Natasha. She double checked that the door was locked, and once she confirmed it, she pulled off the hospital gown with a wince, letting it fall at her feet.

Tears once again began rolling down her face as she took in her appearance. Each and every bone was visible, jutting out like black on a white canvas. Her entire body was covered in lacerations and bruises, so much so that she felt like one giant, open, bleeding wound. Then her eyes landed on her arm. 

The bandages had been changed and she felt shame filling her at the thought of somebody knowing what she'd done. How could she have been so weak? She'd just given up. 

She believed Zeller's lies and had fallen apart in under a month. Wanda bit back a sob as she unraveled the bandage, dropping it into the trash. 

The cut had scabbed up and had a bit of dry blood on it where the sutures met her skin, but other than that, it looked just like it had when she'd torn her arm open. 

Though, she supposed it would take more than a week to heal such a deep injury. Wanda examined her hair next. It looked like someone had tried to clean it as best as they could, and had run a brush through it a few times, but it was still horrid-looking. 

Finally finished being disgusted with herself, Wanda walked to the shower and turned the water on. She flinched away at feeling the cold water, hissing and hugging her arm to her chest. 

She suddenly had flashes of every morning as she'd splashed cold water on her face tiredly, trying her best to keep some sort of self hygiene. Cold. She _hated_ the cold. 

Contemplating for a split-second, she pushed the dial all the way to the right, immediately noticing the change as steam began to fill the room. 

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she stepped into the shower, wincing slightly as the water stung her wounds. Soon, blood and dirt began swirling down the drain and Wanda let out a soft sob.

Slowly, she slid to the ground, hugging her knees to herself, and she wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody’s probably reading this but oh well. Anyway, I just wanna say thank you guys so much for all the comments and stuff, and I’m really sorry if I seem rude for not answering them all, I’ve just been dealing with some stuff lately and it’s taking a lot out of me to reply to them all but I just want you guys to know I’m really grateful some people actually like my story <3


	13. twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiii shdjkrkfkkg im so sorry it's taken so long. i thought that over break id write more but I got sick (still am a bit) and haven't had much inspiration, but i finally got this written, so here you go!

**NATASHA STARED AT** the bathroom door with her brows furrowed, her fingers tapping against her thighs mindlessly.

A knock sounded from the doorway, and the redhead's gaze snapped to source.

"Clint." She greeted with a nod.

The archer walked in, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "How is she?" He asked gently.

Natasha's eyes slid back to the door, and in the silence they could both hear Wanda's soft crying.

"She's been going for the past half hour." She said finally.

Clint bit his lip. "Should someone go in there and get her?" He questioned uncertainly.

"No," Natasha shook her head immediately, "let her come out on her own. Let her have some semblance of control." The spy sighed softly, looking to the ground. "I don't think she's had much of that lately."

Clint sighed, his brows furrowed in an unreadable emotion. Well, unreadable to most.

Natasha could just barely decipher concern and sadness in his eyes. "Cho said they were experimenting on her. Cutting her open and shit." He finally said.

Natasha hid a grimace, raising a brow. "When did she say that?" She asked, instead of the countless other questions she wanted to ask.

"About thirty minutes ago. Called us all to the common room and briefed us." He said slowly, sitting down in the chair next to the redhead.

Natasha's legs were pulled up under her, and she shifted slightly to look at him. "What else did she say?"

"That she's been treated for her wounds. A lot. They likely had a doctor there. It was probably a doctor that was torturing her." Clint's voice was hard as he spoke, and his gaze was locked on the ground.

Natasha nodded. She'd guessed that. From the way Wanda had panicked as soon as she woke, it wasn't just seeing their faces that had triggered her.

She'd scrunched her nose at the smell of antiseptic. She'd teared up at the sight of the hospital gown she was wearing. It was most likely that she was and would be afraid of doctors for a very long time.

"The wounds she had," Clint started up again, "the ones on her chest and stomach, even that one on her arm, _especially_ that one on her arm. . ."

"Could have killed her." Natasha finished, once again nodding. "It's like they didn't care that she could have died while they were having their fun."

Clint dropped his head into his hands. "They obviously did. Stitched up every wound. Cleaned everything. They were pros." He shook his head with a sigh.

The spy let out a small breath and shifted again, uneasily, pulling her knees to her chest. "They find any bodies yet?"

Clint nodded, looking to her. "Eight so far. Five of them were dead, but the other three say they had no idea about Wanda. Refusing to say anything else."

She eyed his bruised knuckles. "Hm." She didn't comment. Then she licked her lips, eyes flicking to the bathroom door, where the sound of water suddenly stopped.

Wanda was coming out soon. Natasha closed her eyes for a minute, then dropped her feet to the ground. "Thinking of dying my hair blonde. Maybe getting a haircut." She murmured.

Clint raised his brow. "Yeah?"

Natasha nodded. "What about you?" She questioned.

He frowned. "What do you mean, what about me?"

"I mean, what would you do? Just if you could."

Clint tilted his head as he looked at her. "Go home, probably. See Laura, see the kids. For more than a few hours." He finally caved.

Natasha smiled softly. "You know they're being monitored by Ross." She reminded.

He let out a soft groan. "Yeah, I know, I know. But, just if I could, you know?"

She did know. She understood. Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Wanda stepped out.

She was dressed in the clothes Vision brought her, a large sweater and pair of sweatpants, and her hair was damp and combed, the injuries on her face prominent.

"Wanda." Clint greeted with a small half-smile.

The younger girl tried to smile back but it looked more like a grimace. Natasha hummed, then stood, slowly and fluidly.

"Nat?" Clint asked.

"Where are you going?" Wanda continued hesitantly, her brows furrowing.

"To have a quick chat. Three quick chats." She answered simply, eyes flicking to Clint, whose face flooded with realization. He nodded at her as she turned to Wanda.

"Clint will stay."

Then she left, and Wanda cautiously sat back on the bed. Clint clicked his teeth.

"Yeah, this is a bit awkward." He mumbled.

Wanda snickered a bit, pulling her knees to her chest with a wince. Clint frowned. "Your arm. It needs bandaged again, doesn't it?"

She shrugged, eyes flitting to the ground. He eyed her, and a sad sigh heaved from him. "Do you want me to do it? Or do you want Doctor Cho to come do it?"

Wanda looked to him immediately. "You. Please." She whispered.

Clint nodded, standing slowly and walking over to a cabinet on the wall and pulling out a roll of bandages.

Wanda watched him anxiously as she watched his turned back. He could be grabbing- No!

No, he was grabbing bandages. Nothing else. When he turned and started toward her, she felt stupid and angry at herself. Since SK, no, since Zeller, she was unnecessarily paranoid. 

An annoyed huff escaped her and she jolted in shock as the chair scraped along the floor. Clint was dragging it closer to the bed so he could sit.

Once he sat down, bandages in hand, he looked to her expectantly. "May I?" He asked with a raised brow.

Nodding, Wanda pushed her sleeve up and held out her arm. An ashamed and embarrassed flush came to her cheeks when she saw how it trembled, and her gaze dropped to the ground, her hair falling into her face.

"Can't believe they'd do this. Could've killed you." He mumbled, seemingly to himself.

Wanda's eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she gaped like a fish. They thought it had been done to her? They didn't realize what she'd tried to do?

Clint gave her a sad look that she didn't see, and began to carefully and gently wrap her wrist. "I'm sorry Wanda, that this happened to you." He murmured.

She blinked, looking up at him. "It's not your fault." _It's_ _mine_ , went unsaid.

He finished with her arm and gave her a bitter smile. "Wanda, we're the Avengers, and you got kidnapped literally a few yards from us. It's a little bit our fault." He argued.

Wanda scowled, tugging her sleeve back down. "Yeah, and I'm Scarlet Witch. You're not blaming me, are you?" She snapped.

Clint recoiled, blinking in shock. "You couldn't have helped it." He said softly.

"And neither could you." She spat.

He looked at her. "You're mad. Do you want me to be here right now?" Nat said control, right? He was giving that to her.

"What does it look like?" Wanda hissed, pulling away from him. _Yes. Stay. Please. I don't want to be alone. I don't know why I'm saying this._

Clint smiled, standing. "I'll go then. Talk later, alright?"

Wanda shrugged, tears welling in her eyes. With that, he turned and left, presumedly to join Natasha on those chats.

The Sokovian found her breaths stuttering as she watched him go. What was _wrong_ with her?

Clint had only been trying to help, and she was being a brat for no reason. Shaking her head, she wondered if they should have just left her to die in that pile of rubble.

Slowly, Wanda lied back down on the bed, her eyes blurring with tears. She wasn't the same. Not anymore.

She wasn't the Scarlet Witch anymore. She wasn't _her_ anymore. And with tears rolling down her face, she realized that she probably never would be again.


	14. thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hdjhjdhjd ok im really sorry please forgive me for taking so long and enjoy peter & wanda fluff

**PETER TILTED HIS** head as he watched his mentor and the Rogues interact. Well, more like, sit around and do nothing in unison. Everyone besides Wanda, who Tony told him was in the medbay resting, was sitting in the common room with conflicted looks on their faces. 

Clint had returned from Wanda's room within ten minutes and Natasha came back around an hour later, with bruised knuckles to match her partner's. 

Tony had promised that they'd go to the lab to work soon, but seeing as he was slumped in a chair with drooping eyes, Peter assumed that lab day was probably going to have to wait. 

Glancing around at the Avengers, Peter sighed. He didn't like that they were there. Not after what they did to his mentor. After Wanda was healed, he hoped they'd all just leave, because he'd never seen Tony this closed off and tense. 

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked quietly. 

"Yeah, kid?"

"I'm gonna, uh, go to the bathroom." He mumbled quietly. 

Tony merely shrugged and Peter got to his feet, turning down the hall to the bathrooms, which just so happened to also be he hall to the elevator. 

"FRIDAY, can you not tell Mr. Stark where I'm going, please?" He asked quietly as he stepped into the elevator. 

"Unless he asks, then of course, Peter." She said cheerfully, and Peter grinned. 

"Thanks FRI, to the medbay, please." 

"Right away."

He felt slightly guilty for lying to his mentor about where he was going, but he also had a feeling that Tony likely wouldn't let him go down there. 

When the doors finally opened up, he cautiously stepped into the large room, looking around for Wanda. He spotted her curled up form within a split second and bounced nervously on his heels. 

"Uh, Miss Maximoff?" Peter questioned nervously. 

The brunette's head snapped up, eyes wide. "Uh, d-don't call me that, please." She whispered, fear swimming in her eyes. 

Peter blinked, his own eyes widening. Why was she afraid of her own name? That's when he suddenly remembered how uncomfortable he was before he finally convinced FRIDAY to just call him Peter. 

Wanda's captors must have called her Miss Maximoff. "Of course. Sorry Wanda." He mumbled, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. 

She eyed him warily, sitting up with a small frown. "Who are you?" She wondered aloud, tilting her head curiously once she'd deemed him not a threat. 

"Uh, um, I'm Peter. My name's Peter Parker. I'm Spider-Man." He stuttered out, wringing his hands, nervousness practically radiating off of him. 

She nodded slowly. "Why are you here, Peter Parker?" 

He shrugged, walking a bit closed, noting how she followed him with her eyes, and lowered himself into the chair beside her bed. "Everyone's boring up there, and I figured you might like some company." He mumbled quietly, and by the way she relaxed slightly, he was probably right. 

"Oh. Thank you." She murmured softly, fidgeting with her sleeves. 

Peter shrugged again. "Mr. Stark will probably notice I'm not in the bathroom soon." He said, just to get rid of the painfully awkward silence. 

"You shouldn't get in trouble for me, Peter." Wanda murmured, looking sad and resigned all at once, and Peter winced at his mistake. 

"No, I, I'll stay. I won't get in trouble." He was quick to respond, nervous gaze flitting to her slightly relieved one. 

After a few more moments of awkward silence, Peter pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. "So, where were you guys staying?" He questioned. 

She tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

Peter blushed, smiling. "I mean, you and the Rogue Avengers. Before. . . you know." He clarified. 

Wanda's face flooded with realization. "Oh. Uh, I'm not sure if I can tell you. Sorry." 

The teen shrugged. "S'okay." He then paused for a moment, before asking, "What's it like living with them? I mean, they're the _Avengers_ , and if I'm being real with you, then I cannot see Miss Black Widow wearing pajamas." 

The Sokovian let out a small laugh, surprising both of them. She hadn't laughed in. . . a while. With a smile still twitching on her lips, she responded, "Nope. Natasha only wears her tactical suit. Sleeps with a gun on each side." 

Peter narrowed his eyes at the girl as if seriously condsidering her answer for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Yeah, har har." He grumbled. 

Wanda snickered. "I've seen her wear fuzzy Captain America pajamas before, Peter. Once you get to know her, you'll know she's a fuzzy teddy bear." She explained, her entire face lit up as she talked about her mother-figure. 

Peter beamed at her. "That would be _so_ awesome! I wish I could get to know her!" He gasped, leaning forward. 

She grinned, adjusting her legs so she was sitting cross legged, and leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm. "She's got a soft spot for kids. I bet you twenty bucks that she's going to mother-hen you before the day is over." She teased.

Peter squeaked in offense, flapping his hands. " _Not_ true!" He then paused, seeming to consider, "Do you even own twenty dollars?"

Wanda squinted at him. "Not the point. Besides, maybe I'm wrong. I bet Stark mother-hens you just as Natasha does to me." 

He scoffed. "Mr. Stark does no- Well, actually, yeah he does. I got a cold one time and he swaddled me in blankets and stuffed me so full of soup I almost exploded."

She laughed loudly, and found herself imagining the sight, eyes sparkling with delight. Peter was smiling brightly, silently praising himself for getting her to smile and laugh. From what he'd heard, she was all sad and mopey.

"Um, Wanda, can I ask you a question?" He asked suddenly, fidgeting with his sleeves. 

She nodded pleasantly and looked to him. "I was just wondering, um, do you know how long you guys are staying here?" He hedged nervously. 

And just like that, the pleasant mood was gone. Wanda felt anxiety claw at her chest and she shifted nervously. "I don't know." She murmured, eyes flitting to the ground. The thought of leaving this place made her heart stutter in terror. 

Here was safe. Out there wasn't. What if Zeller found her again? Or what if someone else did? Blinking back tears of unbridled fear, she offered him a small, fake smile. 

Peter’s brows creased in empathy. God, she must’ve been terrified. Leaving after getting kidnapped and tortured? He could understand this place being a safe place, it was for him and now it presumedly was for her. 

A confident look swam in his eyes and he suddenly became determined, sitting up straight. He would find a way to get Wanda to be able to stay. He had to. After all, she was his new friend, _and_ if Peter asked enough, he was sure she’d help him get to know _the_ Black Widow. 

Wanda frowned at the sudden change in the boy’s demeanor, squinting. “Peter? What are you up to?” She interrogated. 

He grinned, swiping his fingers across his lips. “It’s a secret with me, myself and I.” 

Wanda groaned out a laugh, falling backward on her bed. Peter cackled loudly and delightedly, before immediately beginning to chatter on and on to his new friend. 

They continued to talk for a few hours, and soon were passed out, slumped in strange positions. (Peter was half on the chair, half on the bed, and Wanda had one leg hanging off.)


	15. fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahahahah forgive me i am SO sorry its taken me so long, i just have so many stories and a bunch of personal stuff going on but u guys don’t care about that lmao, here have this

**"FRIDAY, WHERE'S THE** kid?" Tony asked suddenly, realizing that the teen had bounded off to "go to the bathroom" almost an hour ago. 

"Peter is in the Medbay with Miss Maximoff." The AI answered easily. 

Tony stiffened, and he was aware of the others suddenly becoming much more alert. "Pull up a feed, why don't you?" He called, hiding his uneasiness. 

A hologram popped up in front of them, showing Wanda and Peter passed out, sprawled across both the chair and the bed, and it looked like Wanda was smiling. "Oh." He breathed. 

"Looks like the kids are getting along." Natasha commented, tilting her head. Tony grinned softly.

Suddenly, his grin faded, though. When Peter got attached to someone, he got _attached_. It would break his heart to see the Rogues go. A muscle ticked under his eyes as he breathed forcefully through his nose. 

"Tony? What's wrong?" Steve asked with a concerned frown. The billionaire didn't answer, jumping up and pulling out his phone as he strode down the hall. Quickly, he pressed it to his ear. 

"Hey, Pep, the love of my life, the most amazing person in the-"

" _What do you want, Tony?_ " His fiancée asked flatly. 

"Why do you always assume I want something?" He whined, as though he wasn't calling because he wanted something. 

" _Tony."_

"Fine, fine. I just have a quick question. How would one go about pardoning a bunch of war criminals?" He rushed out. There was a pause. 

" _Tony, what did you do?"_

➵

When Wanda woke, it was to a cold sweat and the lingering feeling of blades cutting into her and of electricity flowing through her veins. A raspy cough escaped from her lips and she curled in on herself, eyes widening in surprise when she felt a random appendage by her stomach. 

She blinked in shock at the boy, at Peter Parker, whose leg was practically sprawled over her arm. Smiling gently, she poked him in the leg until he gasped awake, yanking his leg away with something akin to betrayal on his face. 

"Wha. . . ?" He groaned, sitting up and cringing as his joints popped and cracked, stiff and sore from sleeping like that for so long. 

Finally, Peter squinted at Wanda. "Did we just. . . nap?"

Wanda let out a giggle and sat up. "I guess so." 

Then she suddenly became aware of an uncomfortable itch on her arm, slipping her fingers under the bandage to scratch at the stitches. Peter eyed her arm curiously. 

"What happened there?" He asked. 

Wanda froze suddenly, clamming up. "Nothing." 

Peter may have been gullible, but he wasn't _that_ gullible. 

His eyes flicked up and down her body, from her rigid posture to the wild panic in her eyes to the way she was squeezing her wrist in a way that was probably painful. 

And his face flooded with realization. He understood. "Oh." Peter whispered, looking down.

He was filled with such an awkward and nervous tension all of a sudden, and he had no idea what to say to her. "I'm gonna, uh. . ." The teen hooked his thumb over his shoulder as he stood, anxiousness making his stomach do flips and turns for no reason. Why was _he_ nervous?

"Wait!" Wanda cried, leaping up and reaching for him. 

Peter's eyes widened as her thin, trembling fingers locked around his wrist. "Please don't tell." She begged softly, terror swirling in her eyes. 

"I-" he swallowed, eyes shooting to her shaking hands, "I won't."

She relaxed at that, letting him go with flushing cheeks. "Sorry. I'm sorry." Wanda mumbled, hands fidgeting in her lap. 

Shifting from foot to foot, Peter contemplated a decision in his mind for a full minute before he finally spoke out loud. "Do you want to go up to the roof? There's no cameras up there so we can talk freely."

Wanda blinked, then nodded, and the two made their way silently and awkwardly to the roof. Once out there, Peter sat down by the edge, letting his feet kick back and forth as he leant against the railing. 

Slowly, Wanda lowered herself down beside him, and they sat there in even more awkward silence for at least five minutes, before Peter finally said something. 

“If I may, can I ask _why_ you. . . you know?” His voice was quiet, but it sounded way too loud to Wanda’s ears. 

“I thought. . .” She trailed off, eyes flickering along the buildings painting the skyline. Wanda sighed. “My captors showed me a video, a falsified video, and I thought that the team was dead. I thought I was alone, and I was in s-so much pain. I just wanted to sleep.” 

By the end of her explanation, Wanda’s voice was barely a whisper, and was wavering with tears. Still, Peter heard her loud and clear. “I’m really sorry, Wanda. You didn’t deserve whatever they did to you. You seem really nice.” 

The girl looked to him sadly. “I did, actually. You know about Sokovia, right? And the Civil War. . .” She trailed off, a contemplative look in her eyes. 

“Everyone makes mistakes, Wanda. Did you know about the time I caused a ferry to be cut in half?” Peter responded, eyes glinting with a bit of embarrassment. 

“How?” She asked, confused and slightly amused. 

“Well, it started with this guy who called himself the Vulture, but turned out to be my homecoming date’s dad. . .” Peter rambled on and on, throwing his hands around in wild gestures, causing Wanda to smile amusedly. 

She noticed that she felt calm with him, like she hadn’t felt in a while. Like. . . with Pietro. Tears stung her eyes, but happy ones. Silently, she vowed to protect this boy like she couldn’t her brother.


End file.
